Get Lost Ukitake
by LittleLinor
Summary: How easily love slips away... Now Hinamori is with Kira, Hitsugaya is left alone with his personal and emotional failures... only his division can help him stay on his feet...
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: This is my first fanfic ever... I would greatly appreaciate C&C, but there are dozens of chapters ready already, so they won't be taken into account for the next chapters. Id does NOT mean that I don't read then nor take them into account. Thank you for understanding

Also, this was originally not posted in chapters, so I'll just try to keep them even... or to put together events that are linked.

Of course, I do not own Bleach, Tite Kubo does, and I worship him every time I feel depressed and can have a mental chat with the dozens of chars he has created.

This fanfic, though it might not be obvious in the beggining, is Hitsugaya/Matsumoto, and Ukitake will be the matchmaker... or just the observer... depends how much help they need

Enjoy

* * *

* * *

"Hitsugaya-kun, do you want some more juice?" asked Hinamori with a charming smile.

"Yeah, please..."

Hitsugaya Toshiro, captain of the 10th division of the Gotei 13, took his glass and sipped on it while Hinamori sat back and leant against her fiancé's shoulder. Kira, Abarai and Shuuei had been drinking alcohol, but Hinamori became drunk after one glass, and as for Toshiro himself, well, he was both young and a captain, so he had to set an example. Especially for my Vice-captain, he thought, unconsciously lifting an eyebrow at the memory of having to hunt around all of Seireitei to find the sleeping drunken Matsumoto.

"You all right, Hitsugaya-taicho?" asked Shuuei. "You seem dreamy"

"Ah, it's nothing. I was just thinking that it's getting late..."

"Oh, my God, you're right!" Exclaimed Hinamori. "I'm sorry to have held you three for so long... It was just so nice to have you here..."

"No, not at all!" Replied Toshiro with a smile. "It was very nice of both of you to invite us. it's just that I have work tomorrow, and I have no idea if Matsumoto's done hers..."

"I guess we'll be going too, then", said Abarai as he got up. "My Captain is sure to have me work early tomorrow just to teach me that I shouldn't go out in the evenings..."

"You're giving me a good idea, here..." said Toshiro. He turned to Hinamori and Kira. "Well, hope to see both of you soon."

"Seeya, Hinamori-kun! Seeya, Kira!" shouted Abarai as the three of them got out.

* * *

It was cold outside, but Toshiro didn't bother closing his coat. Instead, after having saluted Abarai and Shuuei, he started to walk towards his division barracks, deep in thought.

Even though Hinamori was older than him, he'd always considered her as a little sister. She had been his only friend for a long time, until he had joined the Gotei 13. Even in the Shinigami Academy, he had been lonely. His age, genius and drive to succeed had cut him from the other students. Only Hinamori, who had already graduated, had supported him, even if the way she always treated him like a child annoyed him.

When the scandal with Aizen had occurred, he had tried to protect her with all his heart, but without questioning his feelings. In his conscious mind, the fact that they had always helped each other had been reason enough. Then, when he had been defeated, he had been too sick with himself for having failed to protect her to stand seeing her lie in be, wounded. Feeling useless and frustrated, unable to gather up his courage and go talk to her, he had watched from the sidelines as Kira, who had stayed with her out of guilt, had been at her side as she fought with death, then throughout her recovery. Toshiro had been happy for her as he saw them get close until they finally got together, but now he felt a dull sense of loss. Hinamori's tender eyes as she talked to Kira flashed before his eyes and he thought sadly of the old times when he was the only one to get that look. _Not as if she meant it the same way_, he thought. _She always saw me as a kid anyway._

"Idiot", he scolded himself under his breath.

He pushed the doors to the 10th division barracks and headed to his quarters. He went through the deserted office, then got to his room. As he started undressing, he caught sight of his white captain's coat. That got a sad smile out of him. Not enough strength to protect someone I care about, and not enough guts to tell her I do care… What a poor excuse for a captain I am, he thought as he lay back on his bed.

* * *

He woke up at dawn the next morning, and groaned as he felt the stiffness of his weary body.

"I guess that's what happens to people who sleep little and forget to cover themselves… Urgh, stupid frozen muscles!"

He spent 20 minutes doing exercises to warm up, then went to get a quick breakfast in the division dining hall. Then, feeling he could no longer avoid it, he headed to the office and steeled himself to see how much of her work his vice-captain had left undone.

To his great surprise, the pile of documents he had left on the desk the evening before had vanished. But as for Matsumoto, she had disappeared with it. Sighing, and wondering why he couldn't have got a serious vice-captain like Kurotsuchi Nemu or Ise Nanao, he went off to search for her.

* * *

"Ah, my dear Rangiku, would you like some more sake?"

"Thank you very much, Shunsui-taicho! It's _really_ sad you can't have any!"

She held her glass to Kyoraku, who filled it, sighing.

"Ah, my little Nanao-chan is worried about my health… I'm so touched by the fact that she worries about me that I wouldn't want to betray the unshakable trust she has in me!"

"If her trust in you is so strong, I wonder why she felt she had to follow you here", said Ukitake Juushiro, pointing to Ise Nanao who was doing her work on a table in the corner of the room, and seemed thoroughly delighted to be there.

Rangiku laughed and passed the plate of sweets to Ukitake, who was sitting in his bed, lying against several cushions.

"Oh, while we're on the subject of worrying… My captain seems worried, these days."

"My Shiro-bro?" asked Ukitake. "What's up with him?"

"I don't know… he's off his food and spends twice as much time training as before… … And, he's moody and is much too hard on me!" she added, resuming her usual carefree and complaining tone.

"He gives me much too much work!"

"He probably hasn't got over getting beaten by Aizen…" said Kyoraku. "But there was no way he could have done anything… Even knowing the powers of his Zapankuto, he is almost impossible to avoid, so if he was taken completely by surprise…"

"I wonder if that's the only problem…" said Ukitake, thoughtful.

"I think it probably is. I mean, it's the same way with all those smart guys… they get everything right, and when they fail for the first time, they can't stand it… He'll get over it, he's still young."

"I should go and see him…" said Ukitake. "It's really bad luck that I have been forced to stay in bed nearly all the time since the incident… And the time I had has been spent on division work… Thank you to you two for coming to see me, by the way! But Rangiku, aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"Oh, I did all my work yesterday… It's such an achievement I think I deserve a day off! Besides, Taicho went off to a party at Hinamori and Kira's yesterday, so he'll probably be either still sleeping or in bed with a headache…"

"Don't make your case a generality, Matsumoto" said a young voice from behind her.

Rangiku turned to see her captain leaning against the side of the door, looking as (blasé) as ever. She instinctively had a little guilty smile, but instantly got back her usual manner.

"Oh, Taicho! Up already? What brings you here?"

"I've been looking around half of Seireitei, that's what brings me here. I've been through 8th division barracks, through half of the bars and canteens, and all of the beauty shops. You had better tell me that captain Ukitake actually invited you, cause else you're going to have a lot more chores on your hands."

"I did not invite them, but I think Kyoraku here did invite her to join him… They were just keeping me company… How about you join us, Hitsugaya-kun? Have some sweets!"

"No, thank you… _We_ still have work to do." He turned towards the door, then stopped. "Matsumoto… did you really think I'd get drunk? I never drink…"

"I asked Shuuei to have you drink. You have to learn to have fun, Taicho!"

"What I would really enjoy is for you to stop trying to have me have "fun" and help me do the damn work so I actually have free time."

"Free time? What do you want free time for?" She did a mock thoughtful face. " I know! It's a girl! My Taicho is growing up! Come on, Taicho, tell me who it is!"

Ukitake and Kyoraku laughed silently as Hitsugaya's veins started to appear and pulse.

"Matsumoto, if you don't get back to work straight away, you're gonna regret it! And stop messing with my private life! "He grabbed her sleeve and dragged her out, calling out "Have a nice day, captains" in a loud and determined voice. Rangiku, slightly surprised at such a brutal action form her usually ice-cool captain, shouted back her goodbyes and followed him.

* * *

Ukitake looked at the two of them as they went on their way, Rangiku chatting, Toshiro complaining in a weary voice. He grinned.

"I don't think you could have a better pair of head officers… never seen such opposites… what do you think, Kyoraku?"

"Me? Oh, I think her maternal side", he said with a side look to Nanao's chest "is taking over… "

Ukitake laughed.

"Oh, for sure… I'm sure you're jealous of Hitsugaya-kun for having her as a vice captain, don't you, Kyoraku?"

"Oh, no, I'm perfectly happy with mine… she's so hardworking… Hey, Nanao-chan, come over here!"

"Taicho?" she said as she arrived near them.

"See? Besides, Rangiku is a beautiful woman, but Nanao has a certain sense of style… " ha said, wrapping his arm around Nanao's waist.

"Taicho…"

"Yes, my sweet Nanao-chan?"

"If you don't take your arm off immediately, I will stop pretending I don't know what flavour are the sweets Ukitake-taicho has given you."

"Nanao-chaaaaaaaaan! That is so hard!"

* * *

" So, tell me, Taicho, how was your evening ?" asked Rangiku as they headed to the division headquarters.

"It was fine…"

"Aw, come on! Be more precise! You sound like you've not been there at all!"

"Heck, what do you want me to tell you? I went there, we ate, we drank, we talked! That's all there is to it!"

Rangiku looked down at her captain, surprised. He was looking down, his face hidden by his hair. Thrusting his hands deeper into his pockets, he quickened his pace.

"Taicho…" she said in a softer voice than usual. "What's wrong, Taicho?"

He turned round and looked at her in the eye, something he rarely did. Then, he sighed and his expression softened.

"Aah, I'm sorry, Matsumoto. I'm feeling a little down, these days. Don't mind me."

They walked in silence for a few moments. Rangiku started to grow uncomfortable. The way her captain walked with his shoulders contracted and his hands hidden inside his coat pockets told a lot about how he was feeling, but told her nothing of the reasons.

"Tell me, Taicho… Why are you always so serious?"

He looked up at her, surprised.

"Why do you ask? I just don't especially enjoy drinking and such. I like being with my friends."

"Yes, but even then… you're always serious! You're nice, and all, but you never joke around with the rest of us."

"If I say I'm not a joking person, will you drop it?"

_Damnit, he's being the captain again_, she thought with a slight annoyance.

"No, I won't! I mean, it's no fun having you as a captain!" she added, returning to her usual manner. "I never get free time, and when I work, I can't even joke around with you! Look at Ukitake-Taicho! He's nice with his subordinates!"

"Yeah, right, and I'm a monster who kills you with work! I think we should swap days once…"

"Well, you should at least be nice and stay when you're invited! Ukitake-taicho really wanted to see you, but since he's been ill for some time, he wasn't able to come and visit you…"

He stopped.

"Oh…"

"Honestly, Taicho, do try and relax for once! You know what, you should leave the office to me one of these days and go and see him! I think he wanted to talk to you about something, too…"

"Yeah, like I can trust you with the office."

"No, honestly! I thereby swear that if my captain should go and visit his comrade Ukitake Juushiro, captain of the 13th division of the Gotei 13, I will stay at the office and do my work, without drinking nor sleeping nor flirting, and this until he returns! May I be sent to Hueco Mundo if I break this vow!" she proclaimed in a theatral voice. "Better, now?"

He gave a low chuckle.

"Yeah, I guess I can trust you …" he said with a small smile.

"Haha! I'll tell him next time I meet him, then!"

She started to walk more quickly, half walking and half dancing, as he shook his head, smiling. She gave him a wink and hurried on ahead.

"Oi, Matsumoto!"

"Yeees, Taicho?"

"I _will_ send you to Hueco Mundo if I find out you've been doing anything else than work while I've been away!"

"I'm counting on it, Taicho!"

* * *

* * *

Here, I hope you all like it

The paragraphs used to have different number of lines skipped between them... But this site won't let me...I'm sorry 

Please review bows


	2. Chapter 2: cooking is bad for your healt

Thanks to all who reviewed the last chapter...

I will probably have the next one out in a couple of days.

Also, if you people have theories, or notice some OOCness, please tell me

Enjoy the next part

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* * *

"All right, I'm going to inspect the division and check the supplies…" said Toshiro, getting his coat and heading towards the door.

"Why didn't _I_ get to do that?"

"Because I'll be quicker than you, and I won't stop to flirt with every idle Shinigami I meet."

"That was mean, Taicho!"

Toshiro sighed.

"Matsumoto, we're already late, so if you want to finish this early enough to go out this evening, we had better get going and be efficient."

"Does that mean you intend to finish early?"

"I need some rest. If the work is done, then yes, you're free to go where you want. Make sure it's finished by the time I get back!" he shouted back as he went out.

* * *

Once outside, he breathed in the crisp air and allowed himself a few moments of calm, contemplating the cloudless blue sky. The sounds of Shinigami training and keeping busy got to hears, and he smiled. Gods, he loved managing this division. For his men, he wasn't a kid anymore, he wasn't a genius anymore, he was just the captain, and that suited him perfectly. He had a wonderful feeling of being useful, and of having a goal. Which was very welcome at the moment, he thought. He set up to walk around the barracks, choosing to inspect the training ground first, and he was nearly there when a loud noise drew him towards the kitchens. 

"What has happened here?" he asked, trying to make a way through the crowd that was gathering and hiding his eyes from the smoke that was coming from the room.

"Taicho! Something exploded!"

"I can see that! Who was in charge of that room?"

"Himawari… but he wasn't there! I think the newbie was the only one in the room…"

"Damnit, get out of the way!"

He pushed his way out of the crowd and entered the smoky and suffocated room.

"Anyone in there?"

He had no answer, but heard someone cough at the other end of the room. Pulling his scarf before his eyes, he went in the direction of the sound. Lying on the ground and trying to get up was a young shinigami, with short-cropped chestnut hair that now looked slightly burnt, and a torn kimono.

"Shit!"

Toshiro ran to him and helped him to get up, then hauled him out of the room.

"Get him outside and call 4th division!" he shouted as a helpful shinigami caught the choking youngster and pulled him up.

"You all right?" Toshiro asked the young shinigami when he was done coughing out smoke.

The youngster looked up to his captain, who was standing above him.

"I… I'm all right. I don't know what happened, I swear!" he added in a panicked voice.

"It's all right… You're part of the ten who got affected to the division last week, aren't you?"

The youngster's eyes went down.

"Yeah…"

"Tch…! Himawari should never have left you alone… I'll have a word with him when he comes back." He paused. "How come you got affected to the kitchens anyway?"

"I dunno… I think they needed someone, so they picked the first newbie they found.

"Come to my office tomorrow. I don't know who put you there, but normally, newbies don't get affected to chores for the two first months. They only get training, and they get affected to as many team missions as possible. Easy missions, that is."

"My friends never told me about this!"

"What division are they in?"

"Seventh. They started two months back. And they told me they get to do chores all the time."

"That explains it, then. I instored this rule when I became captain, and Ukitake followed because he liked the idea. Chores can be done by anyone, but if there is real trouble, green newbies are useless in the field. So you get to participate in division life once you've really seen combat and have gathered enough experience." He turned back to the young shinigami and smiled." Of course, some older shinigami don't like it, so when the two months are over, they'll give you hell, and make you do every chore they find. But this way, you already know most of the division, and you can handle yourself in a fight."

"Taicho, fourth is coming!" shouted a senior shinigami. He was followed by the corporal of the squad, an aging woman with a soft face, and who looked as no-nonsense as her sergeant was dreamy.

"Thank you for coming", said Toshiro. "He seems to be all right, but I'd like his lungs checked."

"Of course. All right, open your mouth, young man!" she ordered to the young shinigami.

Toshiro, who had been leaning against the wall, stood back straight, stretched, and ser back to inspect the rest of the barracks. Just as he got to the corner, he stopped.

"Oi, soldier!" he called back.

"Yes, Taicho?"

"What's your name?"

"Suzuki. Suzuki Hideyuki, Taicho."

"All right, then don't forget to come to my office tomorrow! I'll assign you to someone I trust."

"Yes, Taicho! Thank you, Taicho!" said Suzuki with a beaming face before he was ordered to turn round by the fourth division shinigami.

"Don't mention it", said Toshiro with a dismissive movement of the hand. "I just want to make sure my rules are respected."

Turning back, he finally continued his trip to the training grounds.

* * *

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* * *

Again, I will be very grateful to those who will review, since this is my first fanfic

bows to all

Until our next meeting.


	3. Chapter 3: weary return and pink bells

I would like to thank all those who reviewed on the last two chapters.

I greatly appreciate it.

Now, disclaimer, I still don't own Bleach, as most of you are aware of...

I do own the little sweetie that is Suzuki, though.

And if you have to thank someone, thank the person who originally dared me to write this thing...

OOO

All right, now let's move to chapter three, where Rangiku decides her captain needs a rest, and Yachiru a psychiatrist.

* * *

* * *

"Theeeeeeeeere, done!"

Yawning, Rangiku made a neat pile of her documents, then sat back and stretched.

"Aah, if I had known I would end up doing paperwork, I'd never have accepted the job. Being a fourth officer was fun, but now, I never get on the field. Where's my chance to shine and impress all those young handsome shinigamis?" she half wailed.

She stood up and pulled on her clothes to make them fall better, then took out a little piece of paper on which she wrote "DONE!" and drew a little heart, before leaving it on her desk. She checked the old clock the captain had tucked into a corner. _Half past four_… she thought._ I should have time to stop at Nemu's and convince her to come with me. The poor girl needs to get out from that horrid lab and away from that "father" of hers_.

She went through her room to get her shopping bag, and had gotten outside and closed the office door when she saw Hitsugaya arrive from the opposite direction, covered in soot and looking totally exhausted. Her heart missed a beat. With his torn and dirty coat and his blackened hair, his downcast head and the weary slump of his shoulders, he looked as if he had just come out of a fire.

She stayed frozen for a few seconds before she recovered her voice.

"Taicho… are you all right?"

He looked up at her and gave her a sad smile, his blue-green eyes weary.

"I guess this isn't my week." He chuckled" Maybe I should have done what you hoped and stayed in bed this morning." He ran his fingers through his usually silver-white hair. "Damnit, I'm tired."

Rangiku stared at him, unbelieving. Where was the captain who led his men with a warm heart and a firm grip? Where was the Hitsugaya who, with his never-ending seriousness, still always found the right words to make her laugh? Never since she had become his Vice-captain had she seen him so crestfallen. This was beyond weariness, he seemed thoroughly pounded and depressed.

"Just what happened to you, Taicho?"

He sighed and thrust his hands deep into his coat pockets.

"A newbie blew up kitchen n°4. I had to go in to take him out."

"I heard about that. Why didn't you come back to change clothes?"

He shrugged.

"There was no point. I thought it would be better to finish quickly so I could come home as soon as possible."

"And what about your coat?"

"Got caught into a cart wheel… "

She nearly laughed, but remained serious.

"And I bumped into the 4th division healer on my way back, too. Great day, I tell you."

This time, she couldn't resist a giggle.

"Taicho, where did you zanshin go?"

"Oh, shut it!" He paused, then sighed." I'm gonna have a bath and go to bed, I guess. Where are you going?"

"Shopping with Nemu. If you want to have a bath… You should go to the Shinigami Health Stand! I have an account there, since I go there so often, and I get special price! Normally, it's just for me, but I'm sure they'll extend the favour to my Taicho!"

He looked up at her with a raised eyebrow, before turning round.

"No thanks, I'll pass… Just a bath is fine. Good shopping."

And without another word, he went through the door.

OOO

"Oh, look, Nemu-chan! This would fit perfectly!" said Rangiku, thrusting a dress against Nemu's chest.

"Rangiku-san... You don't like my uniform?"

"You can't spend you life in uniform! And besides... a young woman like you should be thinking about getting herself a boyfriend!"

"I'm not sure Mayuri-sama would approve..."

"Well, if you do find one, I'll make sure he has no say in it. I mean who does he think he is?"

"Rangiku-san..."

"Yeah, sorry... I know he's still your father. Here, try on this hair clip!"

"Hey! What are you girls doing here?"

Rangiku turned to see Yachiru, the short, cute and deadly vice-captain from the eleventh division.

"Oh! Hello, Yachiru-chan! You shopping?"

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeees! Ken-chan has given me a day off! Can I join you?"

"Sure! So, Nemu, I am buying this hairclip for you... and we can move to the next shop... No no no, no complaints, you have no say in it!"

She went off to pay before Nemu could protest and came back with a little bag for Nemu and a huge one for her.

"There! Shall we go have an ice cream?"

"Yay! shouted Yachiru.

OOO

"So, Yachiru-chan... why were you out shopping?"

"Aha! I am buying a surprise for Ken-chan! Look!" She leapt down from her chair, hunted around her bag, made an exclamation of happiness and jumped back on the chair, showing a small bag with a huge smile." There! Think he'll like them?"

Nemu opened the bag, and a dozen of little bells fell down in her hand. Rangiku put down her spoon and picked up one to examine it. She started laughing.

"What's wrong, Rangiku-chan?" asked Yachiru, looking worried." You think he won't like them?"

"Oh, he'll love them!" said Rangiku, still laughing as she put the pink bell back in the bag.

"Yay!"

Rangiku laughed and went back to her ice-cream. It was nice to be out with some friends. She was actually happy for the presence of Yachiru, who was more talkative than Nemu.

"Say, Rangiku-chan! Could you come with me to help me finish my shopping, afterwards?"

"Sure!"

OOO

Just why did I accept to follow her? wearily thought Rangiku. She followed the girl's cries and got to yet another alley of the sweet shop.

"Look! These are raspberry-flavoured!"

Rangiku sighed. The hairdresser was sure to be closed, now. She was following Yachiru down another aisle when she bumped into a giant pile of candy that had somehow gained the ability to float three feet above the ground.

"Oops, sorry, I didn't see y... Oh! Rangiku!"

"Ukitake-taicho?" she asked, recognising the voice coming from under the pile of candy.

"Wait a sec... " He set the pile on the ground." There! How are you?"

"I'm fine... I'm helping Yachiru here with her shopping..."

"I see... Well, it's very lucky I met you here... I didn't know how I was going to get all this to your barracks... My third seats won't let me go off too long..."

"What do you mean?"

"Here!" he said, thrusting the pile of candy into her arms. "That's for my Shiro-bro!"

"AH, I get it! He'll be so happy!" She laughed inwardly

"I hope I'll be well soon enough so they'll let me live and I can visit him..."

"Well, he's planning on visiting you some time this week... I told him to go out and have a bit of fun while I did the work."

"And he accepted?"

"I told him to trust me... And he did. Well, the fact he's promised me to throw me into Hueco mundo if I did anything but work might have something to do with it..."

Ukitake laughed.

"Be careful, he'd be capable of really doing it!"

"I know! Isn't it awful?"

He laughed again, then saw Yachiru.

"Hey there, Yachiru-chan! Want some candy?"

"Yay!"

He smiled, bought an additional two bags and gave it to Yachiru, before Kiyone appeared and dragged him out by force.

"Really, Taicho, how can yo be so mean? Trying to give us the slip!"

And she hauled him away.

"Hope to see you soon, Rangiku!" he shouted back.

"So, Poin-chan! Are you finished?"

"P... Poin-chan? Where did you get that nickname?"

"I just invented it!"

"All right..." she sighed. "Well, let's go home, then."

And they left, Rangiku heaving her shopping bags and her man-sized pile of candy.

* * *

* * *

There you go, that was chapter three for you...

Again, I thank all the reviewers, and thank in advance all those who WILL review in the future

(bows)

Until our next meeting.


	4. Chapter 4:The candy man

(sigh) Sorry for the late update... I'd forgotten I had to post this, since I had started doing so when my connection died (as usual).

So here comes chapter four... Where Ukitake FINALLY gets more than two lines

Disclaimer: I still don't own Bleach

* * *

* * *

Toshiro sank into his bath gratefully, and sighed as his frozen muscles relaxed.

_Man, what a day… _He sank deeper, letting the water cover his head and drown the sounds of division activity that were seeping through the walls. For a few seconds, the heat surrounding him and the silence of the water made him forget all his troubles, his weariness and his questions. He surfaced and wiped his face. The water on his hands was black. _No good_, he thought, and he proceeded to wash his hair back to its usual silver white.

When his hair had regained a normal colour and he could no longer see through the water, he lay back and tried to just relax. Despite years of intense training, his body felt overly weary. Probably more from stress than actual fatigue… he thought. He heard laughing coming from outside and pictured Matsumoto running around the shops, trailing the silent Nemu behind her. _How does she get that much energy?_ He wondered. _Ah, well… She probably never gets stressed._

He sighed and pushed his head underwater once more, but a nagging thought made him surface again.

_I've seen this guy before… but where?_

He went as far as he could, but he could not remember the chestnut-haired shinigami. Sighing, he decided to let it drop and climbed out of his bath. He was feeling much too awake to go to bed, so he put on fresh clothes and settled himself in his favourite armchair to read. He had only read a couple of pages before he was interupted by a violent coughing fit.

_Damnit! What now?_

He put down his book and went to get himself something hot and sweet to drink, but nothing helped the pain in his lungs. He swore and went back to his book. Next thing I know, I'll end up in bad like Ukitake… He tried to concentrate on what he was reading, and had finally gotten into it when he heard the door to the office next to his room open and a voice call.

"Taichooooooooo! Where are you, Taichooo?"

Heck, she's already back! He sighed.

"I'm in here!"

He heard the door open, and had just started to turn round when he was suddenly buried under an avalanche of sweets, cakes and other lollipops.

"Just what are you doing, Matsumoto?"

"They're from Ukitake-taicho! I met him this afternoon. And I told him about your coming, too, so now you can't escape, he'll be sad if you don't come!"

"I said I was going, so I'll go, there's no need to blackmail people… How was your shopping?"

"Apart from the part where I followed Yachiru around every sweet shop in Seireitei, it was good."

"Oh, so that's where you met Uk…" He was interrupted by yet another cough.

"Taicho? Are you al right?"

"I'm all right", he said with irritation.

"Well, you don't seem so. Did you catch a cold?"

"Matsumoto, I did _not_ catch a cold, now if you would let me read in peace?"

"Taicho, that's mean! I only came here to give you Ukitake-taicho's present! And besides, did you even stay for a second to get examined by that fourth division person too? You inhaled as much smoke as the newbie you got out!"

"No, I did not, I had more pressing things on my hands." He stopped for a second in order to calm himself. Then, he remembered something.

"Matsumoto? Does the name Suzuki ring a bell to you?"

"Suzuki? No, I don't think so. Why?"

"'s the newbie's name. I think I've met him before, but I can't remember where… Ah, well, don't bother. I'm gonna go sleep now." He stood up and went to put his book back on the shelf.

Matsumoto went to the door of the room, slightly more slowly than her usual pace. Knowing she was doing this to annoy him, Toshiro kept silent. When she got to the door, she turned back and winked.

"Good night, Taicho!"

"Yeah, whatever. Good night."

OOOOO

The night was not good. Despite his trying to hide it, Matsumoto took just one look at him in the morning and sent for Unohana, who had him stay in bed by force for two days. Wondering what he had done to have such a wretched week, he spent the two days lying in bed, brooding and trying to read while he heard laughter from the office room. It seemed that Matsumoto had enlisted the help of Shuuei for the work she could only do herself, and given the rest to the third and fourth seat. The third day, he was allowed to get up, but not to get back to work. Thinking darkly of all the late work he would have to do when he got back, he decided to use the idle day to visit Ukitake.

"Remember what I said about Hueco Mundo?" he asked Matsumoto as he rolled a scarf around his neck.

"I do, Taicho, don't worry! It'll be all done by the time you get home!"

"For some reason, I wonder how you're going to do it, but I'm too tired to argue now. You had better keep your word!"

"Have a nice day, Taicho!"

Toshiro waved and went outside. Tightening his coat, he set at a fast stride, frowning as his legs worked slower than usual. Repressing the urge to run to bring his muscles back to health, he hurried to the 13th division barracks.

OOOOO

"Hitsugaya-kun! How are you?"

"I'm fine. Is Unohana as bullying with you? She spent two hours telling me off for not coming to see her straight away."

Ukitake laughed.

"She can be pretty scary when she wants to. Here, have a seat!"

He held out a chair and Toshiro sat, looking at his surrounding.

"Something's changed, here…"

"Oh, yes, Kiyone thought my room was too dull, so she added a bit of decoration. Of course, Sentaro had to add his own touch…"

Toshiro looked around with a dubitative air.

"They could have chosen styles easier to blend…"

"I guess that would be against their nature. So, apart from that smoke poisoning, how are you doing? It's been quite some time since I last saw you."

"Well, there's nothing much to say. I've been busy, everyone's been, since three of the captains are missing… So basically, division work and a bit of personal training…"

"Rangiku tells me you've been training a lot? Has your defeat against Aizen troubled you?"

Toshiro sighed.

"I don't know if 'troubled' is the word. Of course, it annoys me to have been beaten, but that's not what's important. What is truly important is that we are able to defeat him the next time he shows his face. No one was able to stop him from running away, even though they all knew the powers of his Zapankuto by then. If he managed to escape capture so easily, it's not with my current level that I can beat him."

"Why want to beat him personally?"

Toshiro gave a smile filled with irony.

"I'm the one who's been defeated, right? If someone else, say Byakuya, beats him, my self-esteem will go down a lot."

Ukitake gave him a look that told Toshiro he wasn't completely believed, but he stayed silent.

"Rangiku told me you threatened to send her to Hueco Mundo if she did anything else than work…"

Toshiro shrugged.

"She's the one who had the idea in the first place. She's only got herself to blame."

"You shouldn't be so hard on her, Hitsugaya-kun."

Toshiro looked up, surprised.

"She's been worried about you", continued Ukitake. "She's a bit lazy, but you might have noticed she's done much more these last weeks, because she had seen you weren't doing well."

"Oh… I didn't know. She seemed more annoyed than worried this morning." He paused a little. "Oh, thanks for the candy, by the way… But there's no way I'll eat all by myself. Do you mind if I give some to the rest of the division?"

"Of course not!"

"Then I'll put some in a bowl and anyone who comes into the office will be able to take one."

Ukitake laughed.

"It sounds like the office of the doctor I went to see when I was little!"

That made Toshiro smile. Apparently happy to have achieved so much, Ukitake continued.

"I used to go there something like once a week… so I ate so much sweets my mother had to take me to the dentist as well as the doctor."

"I'd have thought after having eaten so much of it, you'd be done for the rest of your life and couldn't eat any more."

"It seems it had the opposite effect." And to prove his point, Ukitake took out a bag of sweets and started to empty it.

They had been talking (and eating, in Ukitake's case) for a couple of hours when Toshiro decided it was time he headed back home. He really wanted to start working again, and it would be impossible if he stayed outside all day. _Unohana would be capable of checking whether I've been at home_, he thought moodily. He made his goodbyes to Ukitake, politely declined his offer to stay for dinner, and went off, in a better mood than the one he had arrived in.

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Again, thank you to all the reviewers, and thank you in advance to all those who _will_ review


	5. Chapter 5: Sleepy head

Wow, fifth update... Sorry it's short, again I'm trying to keep things coherent...

Thank you for all the good reviews I got, I hope I answered all of them... my comp kept freezing, so some answers might not have gone through... if it is the case please forgive me, you can shout at me in your next review'

Oh, and Shiro-kun is slightly OOC here, but there are reasons for his acting this way.

So, here comes the fifth chapter, where Shiro thinks about the past and Rangiku gets a day off

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach

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When he got to the division barracks, he decided to take a walk around before going to the office. I need the exercise. He went to see how his officers were doing, then found out that he was regaining his lost appetite and set for the kitchens.

"Taicho! It's been some time since you came here personally! What do you want to eat?"

"Give me something filling. Bacon, potatoes, anything."

"Be ready in five minutes! Take a seat somewhere!"

Toshiro nodded and found a table in the dining hall, not far from the door. He looked around at the shinigami eating, and his look was drawn by chestnut hair opposite him.

"Suzuki, is that you?"

The youngster turned round.

"Taicho!"

"How are you?"

"I'm fine! Taicho, I tried to come and see you, but they wouldn't let me in. They said you were ill."

"I was… Ok, come tomorrow, and even if they say no, tell them you have special permission to visit me."

"Taicho! Here's you plate!"

"Thank you!" He took it and took a mouthful before turning back to Suzuki. "Tell me, Suzuki, have we met before? Because I have a feeling I know you."

Suzuki beamed.

"Yes, Taicho! We met at the shinigami academy, Taicho! You spent a week in our class!"

Toshiro opened his eyes wide, then tried to dig through his hazy memories of his first year at the Shinigami academy. He could indeed remember spending only a week in the first class he had been in, but had no memory of the names or faces of the kids that had been there… Most of them had hated him, anyway.

"I remember that class… but I'm not sure… where did you sit?"

He looked down.

"At the back. You probably never noticed me."

Toshiro gave him a heart-warming smile.

"You know, I'd say it's a good thing. The ones I had to notice were the ones giving me hell."

Suzuki looked up and smiled.

"You know, most of the class thought you were boasting, but I admired you at the time… That's why I asked to join this division. I had to work hard, and that's why I joined the army after my friends."

Toshiro was so surprised he forgot to eat for a few seconds. Then, he regained his cool manner.

"Is that so? Well, I'm flattered. Third division is good, you'll be happy here. It's better than ending up in twelfth. Except if you're as obsessed with experimentations as Kurotsuchi, in which case you're fine."

Suzuki laughed.

"One of my friends is like that… She went straight to the twelfth, she was so happy about it… She's not very good at combat, but she's got brains. I guess she'll do fine."

Toshiro, who had by then finished his meal, stood up and took his plate back.

"Well, I hope you like it here. Remember to come tomorrow, I'll give you your new assignment."

"Thank you, Taicho!"

Toshiro smiled and went out of the dining hall, heading for his barracks. He went into the office.

"Matsumoto, I'm here!"

Silence. Her desk was deserted. Heck, where's she gone? He was going to call louder when he saw blond hair on his desk. He went there, and saw she had fallen asleep, her head over a pile of paper. Toshiro sighed and took out the papers to finish the work, but to his great surprise, all was done. No way, she's actually done it!

He put the documents back on the desk, accidentally touching her while doing so. She moaned. Toshiro stopped moving for a second, then sighed as nothing happened.

_What an idiot. She didn't have to work till she fell asleep. Maybe Ukitake is right, I _am_ too hard on her…_

He went to the sofa to get a bedcover that was lying there, and spread it over her shoulders. Then he hurried to his own room.

OOOOO

Rangiku woke up the next morning feeling stiff but relatively wellr ested, considering she had spent the night at her captain's desk. She groaned and stretched, and was surprised to feel something slip off her back. She turned and saw it was the bedcover she usualy left on the sofa for when she took a nap.

_So that's why the cold didn't wake me up. Taicho must've put it there. Why didn't he wake me, though?_ Standing, she bent to retrieve her cover, put it back on the sofa, then went close to Hitsugaya's room, checking for hints of life from inside. Hearing movement, she knocked on the door.

"Come in!" she heard Hitsugaya say in a loud voice.

She went in, and saw him doing push-ups.

"98, 99, 100!"

He got up, slightly out of breath, then took his captain's coat that had been lying on his bed and put it on, turning to her.

"Morning, Matsumoto."

"Good morning, Taicho."

"I thought you'd said 'no sleeping'..."

Rangiku looked aside.

"I'm sorry, Taicho. I started daydreaming when I finished those reports, and I guess I must've been more tired than I thought..." She was still waking up and in no mood for her usual carefree talk.

"Tell me, Matsumoto, don't you have a Shinigami Women's Association meeting this morning?"

"Well, there is one, but I usually only go to the Friday meeting one, since it's my day off..."

"Well, off you go, then. You've got the morning off."

Rangiku stared at him, surprised.

"Why? And how do you know about that meeting anyway?"

He shrugged.

"Kiyone was going on about it yesterday. And it'll wake you up. You're no use to me half sleeping."

He went past her through the door and into the office. Recovering, and now woken up by the shock, Rangiku followed him and closed the door. She felt rested enough, and probably looked it, since despite not having been i a bed, she had had a very long and quiet night, but she kept silent. _Better not give him an excuse to change his mind_, she thought. She hurried to her own room to change, arranged her hair, then went back through the office to go out.  
Hitsugaya was sitting at the spot where she had been half an hour before, and had already set to work.

"Tell me, Taicho, why didn't you wake me up yesterday evening?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"And have you oversleep, then be moody for the rest of the day? You seemed comfortable enough, I saw no reason to wake you up. If you'd still been sleeping now, I'd have thrown you off, though. I need the desk."

Shaking her head, Rangiku went out, her pace slightly dancing.

"Make sure you work efficiently this afternoon, else you won't get any more of those!" he shouted back at her as she closed the door.

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Thank you for reading, and don't forget to review


	6. Chapter 6: How to fight the cold

(sigh) yet another late update... Sorry, but my internet is to blame for that, as well as annoying university timetables.

SO here comes the sixth chapter, where Hitsugaya decides that girls definitely are scary.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach (is too lazy to think of something funny)

Hope you enjoy.

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"Rangiku-san! What a surprise to see you here!" said Hinamori, eyes wide, as Rangiku entered the room. 

The association was still standing and chatting everywhere in the room, so Rangiku went to greet her, but was stopped by a small figure who slammed herself before her legs and nearly made her trip.

"Rangiku-chaaaaaaan! How come you're here?"

"Hi there, Yachiru. Hi, Momo. Taicho gave me morning off."

"He did? Weird", said Kiyone as she arrived towards the group.

"I hear Hitsugaya-taicho has been ill, so I guess now he's better he wants to get back to wrok as soon as possible so he knows what happens in his own division", said Nanao, pushing up her glasses as she joined them. "Hello, Rangiku. Maybe we should start soon, but we're still short Rukia and Nemu…"

"Hitsugaya's been ill? So that's why he came to see the captain yesterday…" said Kiyone.

"You hadn't got that yet?" said Rangiku, amazed. Anything that didn't directly concern her captain seemed to fly far above that girl's head.

"Hitsugaya-kun's been ill?" asked Momo, slightly distressed. "He's never ill usually!"

"He breathed some weird smoke… but I guess the fact he's been tired and cold these last days did help."

"The poor kid is always out without warm clothes… Uniforms are good, but when it's winter, it's winter!" said Rukia who chose that moment to butt in the conversation. "You should teach him to be reasonable, Rangiku-san."

"I'm not his mother! He can take care of himself alone. Besides, he'd just say something ironical and tell me to get to work if I told him", said Rangiku, unable to hide her annoyance.

Rukia gave her a side look.

"Well, if you can't do something about it, maybe someone should… I mean, we can't allow the most kawai guy in this army to get ill…"

Rangiku had a mental image of her captain doing his morning training with a stern look or fighting with a look of utter rage, and wondered if the rest of the girls had ever seen anything other than the kawai side of him. Momo had known him since he was a very small child, and would probably never get to see him as an adult. Yachiru thought of everyone as cute anyway… Nanao hardly knew him. Kiyone just found him huggable, when she forgot about Ukitake long enough to remember there were other people around. Nemu… well, it was always hard to know what that girl had in mind. When she thought about it, she was probably the only person who knew his other sides… Well, only female, at least. Gin and Aizen got to see it too…

"I have an idea!" screamed Yachiru!

She somehow teleported on Rukia's shoulder and whispered something in her ear. Rukia's smile widened.

"Girls, I think Yachiru here has the ultimate idea… listen up, here's what we're gonna do…"

OOOOO

As if God had suddenly decided he had suffered enough, Toshiro's life became much better from that day on. To his great surprise, Matsumoto had left no late work, so he didn't need to do extra hours. He had assigned Suzuki to the fifth officer's squad. The man was a veteran who really took care of youngsters, yet led them with a firm hand, and who went on as many field missions as possible because he didn't like inaction. _That'll harden him a bit_, had thought Toshiro as he had given the assignment paper to the beaming youngster.

Toshiro sighed. He felt sympathy for the over-enthusiastic shinigami, but the way he seemed to admire him, or even idolise him, made him uncomfortable. He had checked that none of the other newbies had been assigned to chores, then, satisfied that his orders had been carried out, he had started working on the division supplies for the upcoming month of December.

This was life how he liked it. A reasonable amount of work, a well-managed division, being able to see his friends (he went out one evening with Hinamori, Kira and the others, and received a short visit from Ukitake, who had been allowed out at last), he was so at ease that two weeks came and went before he knew it. It was now nearly halfway into December, and his mood brightened, since winter was by far his favourite season.

The only weird thing, he thought as he walked through the first snows on December the 12th, was Matsumoto's attitude. Oh, she did her work, no trouble about that. But the fact that she always did it was suspicious in itself. Even more suspicious was the fact that she did it very quickly, then left the office. Her room was often locked when he definitely knew she was in there, and she kept going out with Rukia, whom she had not seen so much before the ryoka incident, and Nemu, who normally didn't go out very often.

"What are you up to?" he had finally asked her the day before.

She had turned back from the door and looked at him with a surprised look that definitely didn't convince him.

"What's the matter, Taicho?"

"I know you're up to something. You're always going out, you lock yourself up…"

"Well, I did my work, didn't I?"

"That too. You've never been as serious with it before. It's as if you wanted to make sure you could go out…"

"Just what are you imagining, Taicho? I just like to have a bit of fun with my friends!" She went and patted his shoulder. "Relax, Taicho! Don't take everything personally! I have stuff to do, that's all!"

I should have stopped her before she went through the door and demanded an explanation, thought Toshiro as he got to the barracks. Why can't I ever get anything out of her? I just can't understand how that woman works!

He got into the office, and wasn't surprised to see it empty. He sighed, put his scarf and coat down on the sofa, and was about to make himself a cup of something hot when he heard someone knock on the door.

"What is it?"

"Sir, the captain of the second division requests a meeting with you, Sir!"

Toshiro sighed and opened the door.

"You could have come in, you know. Do you have any idea what this meeting is about?"

"No, Sir."

"All right, I'll be right there."

He sighed, put his coat and scarf back on, and followed the shinigami.

OOOOO

"You wanted to see me?"

Soi Fon turned towards him, a slightly guilty look behind her unconcerned eyes.

"Well, not me personally, but the head and second of the association wanted me to invite you here..."

"What the..."

"SURPRISE!" said, screamed or laughed the members of the Shinigami Women's association as they burst in through a side door.

Toshiro remained frozen as Yachiru climbed on him to let a small package fall in his arms. He tried to recover his senses while Nanao gave him a small and plain one. He finally managed to move just before Rukia and Kiyone, who were laughing, managed to burry him under a huge, ribbon bound one.

"Matsumoto, what the hell is going on, here?!?" he asked his vice-captain, whom he had seen in the background.

She blushed a little.

"Well, not my idea, Taicho... See, they were all worried about your getting ill, so Yachiru had this idea..."

"We thought maybe you were too busy to think about things like that, so we took care of it for you!" said Rukia. "No, no, don't thank us!"

Very scared of what he would find, he opened Yachiru's package as Nemu put her metal box before his feet. He drew out a pair of pink gloves, with fur on the openings.

"Right..."

In kiyone and Rukia's package was a huge pullover. In Nanao's one a ("bonnet" in french, will look up the translation when I get home). When he opened the metal box Nemu had brought, he just had to ask...

"Er... Nemu... just _what_ is that?"

"It's a special tshirt I designed... It stores your exeding reiatsu and gives it back as thermic energy when the temperature of your body goes down..."

Incapable to find something to reply to this, he put it down with the other presents.  
_Girls_, he thought. _Always have to stick their noses in other people's business_! What annoyed him was that they all acted as if he was just a kid, not a captain, when only Soi Fon was of equal rank with him. _Nah, I'm not fair_, he conceded. _They'd probably do the same with Ukitake_. He pictured Ukitake under an avalanche of girls with presents and smiled.

"Happy, Taicho?" asked Matsumoto as she came near him.

"About those? I can't really do anything about it, can I? But I was thinking that Ukitake would be delighted to be in my steadshoes just now..."

She laughed, and he smiled back.

"By the way, Taicho, here's mine!"

She gave him a white package that revealed a blue handknit scarf. He opened it.

"My, it's huge!"

"I remembered, you were complaining that the last one you had was too short... so with this one, you can go round several times!"

"You made it?"

"Yessir! Took me quite some time, too! And I got teased about knitting by Kyoraku-taicho, so I hope you appreciate the effort!"

This time, he just had to laugh out. She smiled.

"Heck", he said, "you people are wierd... don't expect me to wear the whole of them, though..."

"Nemu's one seems to be very usefull...and other people won't see them, unlike some of the items here..."

Toshiro gave a side look in Yachiru's gloves' direction and shivered.

"You know, that girl can be scary, sometimes..."

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Again, thanks to all those who reviewed, please do again this time, it warms my heart 

Thanks for reading (bows)


	7. Chapter 7: Playing with fire

Mwahahahaha, I updated on time for once

Thanks again to all those who reviewed.

I personally like the last sentence of this chapter... but it's a personal opinion, and it's very biased '

I hope you'll all enjoy the seventh chapter, where a certain weak-lunged captain starts plotting.

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. I only own Suzuki, who does not appear in this chapter

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Ukitake Juushiro, who was enjoying his newly recovered freedom, walked round the Seireitei, trying to make his mind on whether he should go see his Shiro-bro or his old friend

Kyoraku before the pathways to the 8th and 10th division barracks parted. The 8th is closer… he mused as he got to the crossroad…

"Aaaaah! Nanao-chan! Don't hit me!" he heard scream from the 8th division direction.

I think I might just go and see Hitsugaya-kun, he thought merrily. And whistling, he turned left.

OOOOO

"Hitsugaya-kuuuuun!" he called with just his head through the door. "How are you today?"

"Taicho's out!" he heard Rangiku's voice call from a nearby room.

She came back in the office.

"Hello, Ukitake-taicho. You scared me for a moment. When I heard the door open, I thought it was him."

"Oh, that's sad, I wanted to see him… Why were you scared he'd come in? Were you supposed to work?"

"Yeah, that too…"

"That too?"

She looked at him, a look of surprise on her face, then laughed.

"Don't worry, I was just thinking that if he found out I was doing other stuff. He'd be annoyed enough if I had slept… Don't tell him anything, will you, Ukitake-taicho?" she said with an alluring look.

It was Juushiro's turn to laugh.

"Don't worry, I won't tell. It might be a good thing that you're alone here, actually… I was wondering what to get him for his birthday."

She stopped for a second.

"Are you all right? You did know that it's next week, didn't you?"

"Of course, I know. Let me see… Why not something for his training? I'd have said clothes, but the girls already took care of that."

He laughed again.

"Yeah, I heard about that. Did he wear any of it yet?"

"I don't know. He was wearing the scarf as he left… But I don't know if the pink gloves are still in his room", she said with a wink.

He smiled and sat on the sofa.

"Well, I guess I'll have to wait for him, then. Do you have any idea when he'll come back?"

"I'd say about half an hour… Why don't you have something to drink while you're waiting?"

"Hitsugaya-kun has drinks in his office?"

"No way!" she laughed. "That's my personal stock, otherwise I'd never get to drink anything. I swear, even if he was older, he'd still be sober!"

She went back to her room and came back with two glasses and a bottle.

"So, how is Kiyone?" she asked as she poured the drinks.

"She's doing fine… As long as she and Sentaro haven't killed each other, I assume they're fine."

"I think if one day they stop being solely in love with you, those two will make a fine couple. But then, I wonder how long it would be before one killed the other."

"You're the one who's going to get killed if I find out you haven't finished, because I need you for something, Matsumoto!"

They both turned round and saw Hitsugaya waiting at the door, his face hardly visible under the many coils of his huge blue scarf.

"Taichooooo, that's so mean! Ukitake-taicho just arrived, and I was keeping him company!"

"Hello, Ukitake", he said as he took off his scarf and coat. He turned back to Rangiku. "Well, you'd better finish that glass in the second, because you have to go out."

"Why me?"

"Because I have work to do here and you seem to have free time. Go get me the fifth and sixth officers, please, I have to ask them something. And put on something warm, it's snowing again."

"Oooh! Taicho is worried for me! That's so sweet!"

"Matsumoto, will you please hurry on? I'd like this done today!"

"All right, I'm off! See you some day, Ukitake-taicho!"

She grabbed her coat and went out, whistling.

"Seriously…" said Hitsugaya, sighing.

He turned back to Juushiro, who was enjoying the scene.

"What brings you here?"

"I just wanted to pay a visit! Though if you're busy, I can always come back later."

"No, it's all right, I have to finish this tonight, but it's no great hurry…"

OOO

They chatted for some time, and it was getting dark outside, since the winter had started.

"Just what the hell is she doing?" asked Hitsugaya.

"Rangiku? She'll be there in due time. Probably stopped to chat."

"That's what's bothering me. She'll never get the officers here… Come on, hurry up!" he added, his face full of annoyance.

"I should be going, maybe… I'll tell her to hurry if I meet her on the way."

"Yeah, thanks, it'd be nice… Ah, there you are!" he exclaimed as Rangiku opened the door and got in, followed by the officers. "How long does it take you to get two people? You've been away for ages!"

"Well, I'm sorry, but it's been snowing like mad! I need a hot drink! Oh, you're still here, Ukitake-taicho?"

"I was leaving… Good evening, both of you!"

"Yeah… Seeya, Ukitake. Now, you two", he said, turning to the officers. "I need you to check…"

Juushiro didn't hear more, since he had gone out and into the snowy wind. The snow had indeed built up. He hurried on to his barracks, not wanting to catch yet another cold. As he walked, a smile came to his face. It's been some time since I've seen Hitsugaya-kun so at ease… He always seemed tense, even with me… Maybe he's growing up. I should invite him over, next time. So, what am I going to get him for his birthday?

Checking potential ideas, he went back to his barracks.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

As he heard more and more whispering voices whenever he came near anyone female or high seated, Toshiro caught himself wishing he could dump his captain duties and hide somewhere so he wouldn't have to see what Ukitake and co. had come up with for his birthday. _Why do they get all dramatic about it, anyway_, he wondered. _It's not as if it meant anything. I don't know when my real birthday is…_

As always at this time of the year, he felt his anxiety come back, along with a feeling of void. He felt at home enough inside the division, but despite telling himself that he didn't care, he couldn't help feeling a tinge of sadness when he saw Ukitake's younger siblings visit him for Christmas, or when Kira did a party for his birthday, where all his rich relatives would come. He had come, and the closer he had ever been to having a family was when an old lady, whom they had ended up calling Gran, had raised Hinamori and him. She had given him that birthday. 20th of December, in the part of the year where the day was shortest… it was like he'd been born under the sign of cold… Birthday in winter, ice and snow Zapankuto… even his heart felt of ice, sometimes. He liked the snow, though. Snow whirled in the sky, free… snow covered everything and hid the ugliness of life… And you could still use it to throw at your friends when you were in a good mood, he thought with a small smile.

Despite chiding himself for being childish, he felt alone. He had no family, and even his friends didn't really open to him. He knew it was because he always looked cold, or even insensitive, but he didn't want to change it. _It's my nature, he thought. What's the point of playing a part?_

He stopped for a few seconds as he got to the 10th division barracks, looking up at the dark sky and the flying snowflakes. The view was beautiful, yet he just felt numb. He stayed there for several minutes, letting the snow get into his eyes and cover his hair until it started to fall inside his scarf. Then, as he felt a faint feeling of panic grip his heart, he decided he had better go home. He headed to headquarters at a fast, tense pace.

A wave of warmth greeted him as he entered headquarters, melting the snowflakes on his eyelashes. A fire was burning, and the office had a feel of home to it. _I guess this is the closest thing to a home for me_, he thought.

"Oh, there you are, Taicho! I was wondering when you'd get home!"

He turned to see Matsumoto's head sticking through the door to her room.

"Hi"

"I finished calculating the food supplies and we've been very efficient, cause we've got extra. I got some wood and got the fire going, cause it was freezing cold in here, and I also got my hair trimmed! What do you think, Taicho?"

"It's great", he said with a sigh. "Did you do it for any particular reason?"

"No, it just needed trimming. A young woman like me has to always look her best, especially when she has responsibilities and has to be an example, don't you think?" she added with a wink.

He ignored her remark and was rolling his eyes when his face lit with sudden amusement.

_Fire_, he thought. From her golden hair to the way she was in perpetual movement, Matsumoto was fire incarnate. She even had the Zapankuto that went with it, he thought. _No wonder I can't keep up with her. Maybe I should stop trying and wash my hands of it_, he thought with a chuckle.

"What's so funny, Taicho?"

"No, nothing. Man, I'm drenched!" he said, noticing the snow had melted and soaked through his clothes.

"Well, it's no surprise, but that's your problem, cause I'm off!"

"Where are you going?"

"To see Kyoraku-taicho and Nanao."

"Well, don't get drunk, because I'm not coming to get you", he told her as he took off his coat and scarf. "I intend to have a nice quiet evening, and I'm not going out again, even for you. And I want you back here before tomorrow morning, we have a lot of work to do before the meeting with the commander."

"All right, all right. Why is it always the nights I want to go out that we have to work early?"

"Ask the commander. I'm not responsible."

She sighed, but put her smile back on.

"Oh, well, have a nice evening, Taicho!"

_There's just one thing that doesn't fit_… he thought. _If her element is fire, how come she's so lazy?_

* * *

Well, there it is, I hope you enjoyed it, please review, nice reviews make my days, and crit helps me, so any of both are welcome 


	8. Chapter 8: You seem happy today

Ahem... Sorry for the uber late update... not being at home half of the time + university crazy hours (8 am to 7 pm without lunchbreak on thursday) + being sick does that... I apologise deeply and will be more careful next time

Thank you again to all those who reviewed, it warms my heart

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Bleach

So here we move to the 8th chapter, where Rangiku gets drunk (gasp)

* * *

Rangiku walked lazily indeed as she went to the 8th division barracks, humming.

_Hehehe, my present's nearly finished!_ she thought with a grin. She had spent the last week working on it, since the group present of the association had taken all her free time the previous weeks. She had been slightly annoyed when Yachiru had come up with that idea, but she didn't dare tell them she was already working on something, because they'll have teased her to death. Anyway, those clothes had been a good idea, even if some of them lacked a bit of taste. _I'm lucky Shunsui-taicho chose today to invite me, though… I'd have had to refuse before, and I do need a break._

She breathed the crisp air.

_I wonder if Taicho will like it… He'll probably be mad at me, but I hope he'll take the joke. He's been more open, recently… It's good, he'd been so depressed before… He needs to learn to have fun!_  
The thought of his face when he'd see the present made him grin. _He's so funny! He should get by now that's why I love teasing him. His reactions are really worth being shouted at._

She thought back to the days when she had first become his vice captain. The idea that he was a weak child hadn't lasted a week, one fight against a menos had changed that and given her a real respect for his skills. But for the first months, she had seen him as a cold and uncaring person. It was only with time that she had seen through the mask, and had come to like him… and tease him. She felt really comfortable with him now, as if despite their differences, there was a deep trust between them. _I guess he knows I may be lazy and act stupid, but I'll always be there if need be._

She arrived at her destination and called at the door. Nanao opened, smiling.

"Didn't you say you'd be there earlier?"

"Sorry, but I was waiting for Taicho to get home…" she said as she got in and took off her coat.

"Since when do you wait?" asked Kyoraku, who had apparently started to drink while waiting for her. "You could have just left."

"I needed to tell him a couple of things before I left, and I didn't know if the fire would last till he returned, it would have been bad if he had come back and the place was freezing again…"

Kyoraku raised an eyebrow, but didn't say more.

"Well, it was freezing indeed here, so I had to start while waiting for you."

"It's all right… Though I wouldn't mind a glass of sake now I'm here!"

He laughed and filled her glass. Smiling, she took it and emptied it.

"My, you're being quick today!"

"I was cold…"

"Another one?"

"Indeed!"

OOOO

"You seem in a good mood, Rangiku…" said Kyoraku a few hours and glasses afterwards.

"Do I? Too much Sake, I guess… I'd better be careful, Taicho is going to kill me if I fall asleep here."

"I'll cary you home if need be… Even if it means getting my little Nanao-chan jealous."

"Don't think so high of yourself, Taicho, I wouldn't give a damn" called Nanao from the other end of the room.

"My, she has good ears… Anyway, it's not just now, so the sake has nothing to do with it. Why are you in such a good mood?"

She tried to think clearly through the haze caused by the sake.

"I dunno… I do feel good, but I have no idea why. Maybe cause Taicho is starting to trust me more… Even if I do everything for it, it was kinda painfull to think he believed I was a lazy bastard."

"Awwwww, Rangiku-chan, I'm sure he never thought that! He's a nice guy, that kid is…" He filled himself another glass, trying not to spill any. "Too bad he doesn't drink…"

"Yeeeeeah, he's nice. And he's sweet when he gets all flushed. You should have seen his face when Yachiru gave him those pink gloves…" She started giggling in a very girly way. "He was paralysed by shock, I promise!"

"Was he, now? How interesting?" His eyes gazed into emptiness. Rangiku waved her hand in front of his eyes.

"Shunsui-taicho? Are you still here?"

"What? Oh, yes, I am! I wouldn't die while in such good company!"

That made her giggle again.

"Don't flirt with me, Shunsui-taicho, I'm not interested. Besides, I'm sure Nanao would be sad!"

"Oh! How could you imagine that I'd be flirting with you and ignoring Nanao-chan?"

"She could believe what she wanted, and if you rid me of him, I'll be very thankful, Rangiku!"

Rangiku laughed as Kyoraku went to Nanao, trying to bring her to more tender feelings. Then, she looked at the clock.

"I should get going… I won't be able to stand any more if we continue like this…"

"Oh, you're leaving already? That's too bad! I still have another bottle waiting…"

"Keep it for next time! I'll be back, and I'll try to bring Taicho with me. If we work at it together, we might be able to make him drink."

"Oooh, very good idea, Rangiku-chan! I'll keep my best bottle for the occasion!"

She giggled again and went out, the cold making her sober enough to walk straight, albeit just sober enough.

_And there we gooooo… _she thought. _Better be there quick, it's freezing outside. Taicho will be happy, it's snowing…_

She hurried and was back to headquarters in a matter of minutes.

"Taichooooo" she said, opening the door. "Are you here, Taicho? I'm home!"  
Silence answered her. She went inside, and noticed that the fire was still burning. _He must have gone to bed late…_ She took off her coat and sat on the sofa, too tired to get to her room. Daydreaming as she looked at the fire, it was only a matter of minutes before she fell asleep

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

She woke up the next morning thinking that maybe she had overestimated her capacity to drink and not have a hangover. She groaned and tried to open her eyes

"I thought I'd said 'do not get drunk'?"

She almost jumped, seeing her captain's face right above hers.

"Taicho! What are you doing here?"

She sat up, and realised that he was actually not just over her, but behind the sofa, and had just bent to see her. Now she was sitting up, her face was just level with his, the sofa between them.

"We're in the office, so it's only normal that I'm here considering the time", he said, half sitting over the back of the sofa. "I wonder, if you came back all the way from 8th division, how come you didn't finish the job and go to your room?"

"The fire looked good…So I just sat to look at it… And I guess I fell asleep."

He sighed.

"Typical… Well, you'd better get dressed, cause we've got to go out."

She got up.

"I'll be ready in a couple of minutes." She went to her room and changed. "Oh, by the way", she asked as she came back, "are you taking a day off tomorrow?"

He sighed as he opened the door.

"I don't really have a choice, do I? I don't know what you have in mind, but Ukitake definitely won't let me work… So I might as well plan it and not have a bad surprise."

She laughed, and winced as her headache called her back to order.

"Maybe one day, you'll learn", said her captain with a side smile.

"Aw, Taicho, don't be a pain, it hurts enough already."

"Don't blame me. And please act fresh and sober in front of the commander, I don't want to have to explain why you're wincing every time he talks."

That hurt.

"You know, Taicho, I have never yet given you an reason to be embarrassed in public, have I? Why do you keep criticising me?"

He looked up at her, surprised, then looked ahead again.

"I'm sorry, Matsumoto", he said, his voice low.

His apologising so quickly surprised her. Now she was the one to feel sorry for him. His voice sounded so sad…

"It's all right. It's true after all, I'll need to be careful. Don't want to spoil my image before the commander, so I?"

He looked at her again, and she smiled warmly.

"Now, shall we go? We'll be late."

He chuckled.

"Indeed."

* * *

Well, I hope you all liked it

Please review, it'll motivate me to write more, hehe... since what I'm updating for the moment was written quite some time ago, but I'm experiencing quite the writer's block on the part that I'm writing right now...

Till our next meeting (bows)


	9. Chapter 9: Too much sweets

Gah, i'm truly sorry about the update. I totally forgot,a nd have been through a writer's block. Though this aprt was written before, I didn't write anything else and it pisses me off; Also, University has been really taking over my life.

So yeah, if you notice I've forgotten to update and you really want to see the next part, pm me to remind me. I might not have any ready, but if I do I'll post it, ok?

So... here comes the next dreaded BIRTHDAY chapter

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, all I own is (for now) Suzuki.

* * *

Toshiro woke up the next day, and drew a huge breath.

All right. It's only for one day. They'll finally leave me alone after that.

He did his usual training, then got dressed and went out in the office. He was surprised to see Matsumoto there.

"Helloooo, Taicho!"

"Aren't you somewhere preparing some trap?"

"No, I told everyone they should do it without me, so I won't have to lie to you when I say I don't know any of their plans."

If he hadn't been in a bad mood, he would have laughed outright at that. As things were, he gave her a side smile.

"Seems you're finally getting how to keep safe. Do you have any tea left? I can smell it from here."

"Some over there", she said, pointing." I don't suggest a strong breakfast, they'll probably have a cake…"

"Do you think I'm stupid? I'm not swallowing anything this morning. Last year, I've been sick for two days…"

She laughed loudly. Heck, I guess it's funny when you're not the one to whom it's happening. Why do I have to be the only person around to wish I didn't have a birthday?

"Relax, Taicho, it isn't that bad. They all love you, and they never get a chance to show it… This is like the only occasion they have."

"Yeah, right."

If they think I'm so cold, why do they keep trying to hang out with me, he thought with annoyance. He immediately regretted the thought. And I'm the one who was getting sad about not having a family… My friends try to give me one and I won't even let them…

Rangiku bent down to have her face level with his.

"Taicho? Something bothering you?"

"Nah, I'm all right. So you really don't know what Ukitake has in mind?"

"I have no idea. Besides, I was busy, I didn't have time to organize it with him."

"Busy?" he asked suspiciously. "What were you 'busy' doing? You've been here all the time, either working or in your room. And then, you went off to see Kyoraku, you could have gone to help him instead."

"As you said, I was always here, I didn't have time to go, and when I went to see Kyoraku-taicho, it was too late for organization anyway." She took a handful of sweets form the bowl Toshiro had put out to get rid of Ukitake's present and began to eat some. "besides, I think you're relieved that someone isn't part of the conspiracy, aren't you?"

He laughed at last.

"Yeah, like you wouldn't have been in it if you could. Well, I have no idea what you were 'busy' doing, but it hopefully can't be worse than whatever Ukitake has in mind."

She smiled, and he grinned back.

"When did I ever do anything mean to you, Taicho? I am a nice person!" she said in a teasing voice.

"Yeah, whatever."

He helped himself to some strong tea and went to his library to get out a book, then settled down on the sofa, lying on his back to read.

"You not going out?" asked Rangiku's voice from over him. He pushed his book aside and saw her face over his, as she had bent in two.

"What's the point? He'll find me if he wants to."

As if to prove his point, there was a knock on the door. Toshiro took a deep breath.

"Come in…"

OOOOO

The door opened to reveal Ukitake and Kyoraku, who entered the room with a loud 'Tadam!", Nanao who seemed less enthusiastic at her captain's behaviour, but smiled at Toshiro as she came in, Kira and Hinamori, Abarai, with Rukia following not far behind with Kiyone, Sentaro who seemed determined not to let Kiyone get there before him, most of the Shinigami women's association, Kenpachi, followed by his third and fifth seat whom he had obvisouly forced to come. Sighing, he put down his book and stood up to face the crowd.

"Ah, couldn't you guys chose a better moment to butt in?" he asked, running his hand through his hair.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Hitsugaya-kun, maybe we're intruding on your free time?" said Ukitake with a laughing look.

"What the heck are you talking about? I knew you'd come anyway. Do you think I'd have taken a day off otherwise?" He went around the sofa to greet his "guests", and was surprised to see Matsumoto blushing.

Weird…

Inwardly shrugging, he went to see the collection of people and to get the presents before they dumped them everywhere. He had taken nearly everyone's when Ukitake cornered him.

"Now, Hitsugaya-kun, I'm sorry, but I don't have my present with me…"

"Er… That's all right…"

"But It's just outside… My subordinates have it. Can they come in?"

"Er… Sure. Go ahead."

"Hey, Guys, take it in!" shouted Ukitake, making Toshiro wince.

The door opened, and four shinigamis from the 13th division entered, carrying a huge device wrapped in paper. They put it down on the floor and saluted Ukitake.

"Well done, I'm proud of you! You have the rest of the day off!"

The shinigamis saluted with a smile and went out, chatting as soon as they had gone through the door. Toshiro remained unmoving, not knowing whether he wanted to destroy the thing before it was opened or open it straight away and be done with it.

"Ukitake… Just what is that?"

"Aha! I had it sent directly from the living world! Just wait a second…"

He tore off the paper.

"So, what do you think?"

To tell the truth, Toshiro was beyond thinking anything. In front of him was standing a huge machine, with levers everywhere and holes. It was painted in flashy colours and had "make your own candy" written at the top. He heard Matsumoto giggle and was brought back to his senses, though he hadn't recovered from the shock.

"Ukitake… Just what is that?"

"It's a device that allows you to make your own candy! I got it in the real world… To tell you the truth, I wanted one for myself, but I thought you needed it more than me."

"Right…" said Toshiro, rubbing his eyes.

"All you need is sugar, and another couple of ingredients that are in this box here!" continued Ukitake, grinning.

"Great…"

He turned round to face the other guests and their presents, and was annoyed to see Matsumoto giggling again.

If she thinks it's so funny, why doesn't she help me?

It took about half an hour to open everybody's presents, which included some useful things, like the books Hinamori and Kira had got him… and things he hoped he could forget, like Kyoraku's present.

"Well, since I had no idea what present idea was still free and I wanted to be original…"

"rather, he was too lazy to stand up and go buy something" whispered Nanao in Rangiku's ear.

"I decided to offer you a little of my inspiration and write you a poem… I asked my buddy Ukitake to help me, but he did was correct the grammar…" He glared at Ukitake. "Anyway, here's it, you can have it (encadré) afterwards…"

Toshiro waited, teeth clenched, as Kyoraku declaimed his poem about Toshiro's heroic actions in the incidents against Aizen and Ichimaru.

OOOOO

Rangiku, who had laughed at lot at the beginning, was now starting to get uncomfortable.

Damn Shunsui, can't he see it's bothering him?

It was beyond the usual annoyance he'd feel and show at having a poem written about him. Using what he felt was a failure and turn it into a glory was really indelicate. She knew he was cursing himself each day for that failure, and this only opened the gash in his heart wider. She was going to give a furious look to Shunsui when he finally finished his poem and bows to the clapping assistance. She sighed in relief and slowly walked to Hitsugaya's side.

"Relax", she told him in a low and comforting voice.

"They are such idiots…" he said, shaking his head. Even though he appeared undisturbed, Rangiku noticed his knuckles were white where his hands held his arms crossed.

She put her hand on his shoulder.

"They didn't mean any harm…"

"I know."

He moved from under her hand, letting it fall as he went to thank the guests. She crossed her arms and looked at him, slightly uncomfortable. From her position out of the crowd, she could clearly see the tension in his body, the unnatural pattern in his movements, and most of all his forced smile.

When will he be able to smile for real? she wondered. He's always blaming himself for everything… no one can carry that weight alone… and yet he lets no one come close to him…

She shook her head, slightly angry at him.

You're such an idiot! she thought.

She uncrossed her arms a little more roughly than usual and walked to the desk where some leftover sweets were waiting to be eaten. She opened one and was about to eat it when she heard a voice behind her.

"Anything wrong, Rangiku?"

"I'm fine", she answered, recognising the voice. "Why do you leave the crowd to come talk to me, Ukitake-taicho?" She put her sweet in her mouth and let it melt there.

He chuckled.

"You seemed to need comforting. Why the glare?"

She sighed inwardly. He's never gonna leave me alone if this continues… She resumed her usual half joking half flirtative manner.

"I'm perfectly all right, Ukitake-taicho! I just had a sudden need to eat something sweet, and I'm annoyed because I thought this one was mint and it isn't!"

What a lame excuse…

Ukitake laughed.

"Well, if you say so… I have a huge cake ready, that should put your soft tooth to rest!"

It was her turn to laugh, albeit not as loud as usual.

"Then how about we take it out? Some people had no breakfast on purpose, they'll soon fall down with hypoglycaemia if we don't feed them."

He laughed very loudly.

"Al right, then." He raised his voice. "Well, my dear friends, I suggest we all settle down and have some cake…" He motioned to a man-sized cake that had been brought in by some of his division members and was waiting on a table in a corner of the office. Rangiku, who was happy to give Toshiro an excuse to get himself busy and not have to talk, smiled and went to chat with Nanao.

OOOOOOOOOO

By the time he was forced to eat his third piece of cake, Toshiro thought he had done well not to eat breakfast. It was now well into the afternoon, and he started to wish they would all leave and let him have a quiet evening. He looked around at the guests.

Ikkaku and Kenpachi were in a corner of the table, chatting with Sentaro, Kiyone was chatting with Yachiru, Rukia and Nanao, though much louder, Hinamori leaning against Kira, listening to Abarai, Yumichika and Kyoraku drunk with Ukitake watching them and smiling. He suddenly realised that Matsumoto was not drinking with the two of them.

Instead, she was watching from the sidelines with Ukitake. Since at his last birthday, he and Nanao had had to carry her to her bed, he was rather surprised at this change of attitude.

Just as good… It's gonna be trouble enough without her being out.

Actually, apart from the poem and the candy machine, the party had been rather good. Somehow, most of the things that had annoyed him the previous years had disappeared, as if some imp had made sure everything went smoothly. Toshiro allowed himself to relax and sit back in his chair.

"So, nice party?"

He turned to see Ukitake smiling down at him.

"It's all right", he said, sitting back up. "Thank you."

Ukitake grinned.

"You actually thanked me? I thought I'd get my head bit off…"

Toshiro sighed.

"If you thought so, why did you organise it?"

Ukitake laughed.

"Well, you have to have a birthday party! Otherwise, you would forget you even have a birthday."

"What difference would it make?" whispered Toshiro to himself. He smiled to Ukitake and went back to watching the table.

OOOOOOOOOO

"See you, Hisagi!" said Matsumoto with a smile, waving to the last guests.

Toshiro was waiting for her to finish, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed. He looked at her as she closed the door and turned back to smile to him.

"So, how was it?"

He sighed and pushed himself from the wall, uncrossing his arms and thrusting his hands into his pockets instead.

"It was all right. Not as messy as last year."

She grinned.

"Good. Well, I'm going to bed."

He checked the clock.

"Bloody hell…" He sighed. "I think I'm gonna go too, as soon as I finish clearing this place up. Good night, then."

"Good night, Taicho!"

And she went to her room, humming.

So there was none after all… Of all the guests, she had been the only one who hadn't given him a birthday present. Oh, well, that scarf probably counted as one… He sighed and put the room in order, then went to his desk to retrieve his book so he could read before sleeping. He had taken it and was going to retreat to his room when something caught his attention.

_What the hell…_

On a corner of his desk was a fist-sized object wrapped in paper. He frowned and opened it, to reveal a white mug with "to the coolest Taicho" written on it in big blue handwritten letters. His eyes opened wide.

_No way…_

Then he grinned.

_What an idiot._

And with the grin still on his face, he went to his room.

* * *

Thanks for reading and please review 


	10. Chapter 10: Wandering eyes

Erm... don't kill me, ok?

I'm really sorry I didn't update earlier, especially since I told people I would. My comp's still having virus problems... and I'm completely out of Bleach. Haven't watched/read any for a long time. BUT the published manga here in France is finally reaching the arrancar season... and if I get some additional storing space for m birthday (on the 8th) I might be able to get the manga I've missed up to now... which could possibly get me into Bleach again.

Once again, the reviews are love, and they DO motivate me. In fact they're the only thing that pushes me to update this. So thank you so much to all those who reviews and/or pmed me. Feel free to do it again, you'll earn much love from me.

Right... Now on to the story...

This is a very interesting chapter sniggers Can you see the relationship starting to change? And matsumoto has wandering eyes XD

Aaaaand the plot thickens! dances haen't you all been waiting for it?

DISCLAIMER! I don't own Bleach. I own Suzuki. Enough said.

* * *

Rangiku arrived in HQ one evening three days later, shook off the snow that had got caught in her hair, and took off her scarf.

"Taicho, I'm home!"

She let a huge pile of paper fall loudly on his desk. She had just spent two hours outside in the snow getting reports from their officers, and had been especially annoyed when she had had to run for one hour after one of them that had gone missing. In the end, she hadn't found him and had decided to come home instead and let him go and explain himself to Hitsugaya when he came back. _Well, now I've done the hard work, so he can do the damn paperwork_, she thought happily. _There's no way he can refuse_ that

"Taicho! I said I'm home! I got the reports you asked for!"

No answer.

_He's ignoring me again_, she thought, annoyed. She went to his room and opened the door, expecting him to be reading one of his damn strategy books.

"Taicho? I said I'm…"

She stopped dead. Just coming out from his bathroom, hair still wet and dressed only in a towel that was strapped around his waist, was Toshiro, looking as surprised as she was.

"I… I'm sorry, Taicho, I didn't mean to…"

He regained his composure and sighed.

"Matsumoto, what do you want?"

"It's nothing, it's just that I just arrived from getting those reports, and I…I though you hadn't heard me, and…"

_Damnit, why can't I speak properly? _thought Rangiku, mad at herself. _He's the one who should be embarrassed, not me!_ She tried to calm down and regain composure, but somehow she couldn't… Despite trying to look him in the face, her eyes kept being drawn to his chest.

_He's changed…_

He was still as short, but under the delicate lines of childhood, the stronger lines of manhood were just starting to appear. His shoulders had slightly squared and his collarbones were no only just showing. Rangiku blushed slightly. On a more mature man, that last detail would have made her blood run faster. Her eyes followed his hand as he brought it up to run it through his wet hair.

"Matsumoto…"

"I…I'm sorry, Taicho, it's nothing urgent, I'll wait outside, take all your time, I'll work in the meanwhile, see you in a minute."

She turned and left the room while he sighed and started to dry his hair with a second towel.

_Why am I reacting like this? It's stupid, it already happened once, and besides, I see him every day, I saw he had grown before…_

_You can't see anything under that uniform_, said a second part of her. _He could have turned into a man completely or have had dreadful scars, you wouldn't have noticed… Unless he caught up to you in size, anyway._

She shook her head_. I should have noticed… I kept thinking that I was helping him, and that I was one of the only people to understand him even a bit… And I didn't notice… what a poor friend I am. He's turning into a young man, and if this hadn't happened, I might have been still treating him like a kid when he would have been fully grown… _She closed her eyes, and saw him again, standing with his hips sideways and running his hand through his hair, his usual weary look on his face. _Rangiku, you are a blind idiot._

"So, what did you want to show me?"

She turned, startled. _Why didn't I hear him come out? I'm a vice-captain, since when don't I have enough zanshin for this?_ Trying to hide her embarrassment, she smiled.

"Well, I got the reports you had asked for… The one from the seventh seat is missing, though, I hunted through the entire division for him, but I didn't find him."

Toshiro sighed.

"I'll have him come here and explain… Anything else?"

"No, no. Can I have the rest of the afternoon free?" _I need to clear my head._

"All right… I'll have a look at those reports and send for you if I need anything."

"Thank you, Taicho."

And without looking at him, she picked up her coat and scarf and went out.

OOOOOOOOO

Toshiro came home from training a few days leter to find Suzuki waiting in front of the HQ door.

"Oi, Suzuki!"

The youngster turned and bowed.

"Good morning, Taicho!"

"Yeah, good morning. Why didn't you enter?"

"It's empty... I didn't want to stay alone in your office, it isn't right..."

"Matsumoto isn't in?"

He sighed, wondering where she had gone again, and opened the door.

"Come in... what brings you here anyway? Don't tell me your squad leader wants you out from his squad already."

Suzuki beamed.

"No, no! He said I was doing great. And I've done my first real fights... It was scary, but I managed it anyway."  
Toshiro felt like chuckling, but kept control of his facade and just gave him a side smile.

"You still haven't told me why you're here..."

"Oh, that's right... Wait a second, Taicho, I've got it there... "he rampaged through a small bag he was carrying with him, and took out five pages of paper. "Kyoka-sama hadn't finished the report he gave Matsumoto-fukutaicho, so he asked for a volunteer to bring the end to you."

Toshiro raised an eyebrow.

"And you voluntered straight away?"

"Of course! Most of the squad was busy anyway, so he was happy to send me."

Sighing, Toshiro took the report and started to read it.

"So, I take it you enjoy life in 10th division?" he asked absentmindedly, his eyes scanning the document.

Suzuki was about to answer when the door to Matsumoto's room opened and she entered the office, looking throughoutly refreshed.

"Where've you been?" asked Toshiro in an expressionless voice as he kept reading.

"I took a bath to wash my hair, it was sweaty after training."

"And you left the office open and empty?"

"Well, I knew you were due back any moment."

Toshiro rolled his eyes, but gave up the argument, not wanting to start yet another half-hour long discussion. Instead, he returned to his document, but had only read half a page when he nearly jumped, feeling her hand on his left shoulder.

"Now I'm ready, do you need me for anything, Taicho?" asked Matsumoto, one hand on his shoulder, the other on his desk, and leaning towards him.  
Toshiro resolutely ignored the scent of lavender bath oil that was coming from her hair.

"Well, actually, I need that missing report... I can't wait for him to come or send it, since I have to confront it to another one... could you just go see if he's back?"

"I... I'll go!" exclaimed Suzuki.

Toshiro turned back to look at him. He looked flustered, and was staring at Matsumoto. After wondering for a second what was wrong with him, Toshiro laughed inwardly as he realised that from the way she was leaning forward, Suzuki must have had a pretty good view of Matusmoto's cleavage.

_Poor guy_, thought Toshiro, amused._ He's nearly as young as me, a view like that must be quite a shock... I can't really blame him, either.  
If by the time I started to notice I hadn't been working with her long enough to be immune to that particular part of her body, I'd probably be staring at it rather often too._  
The way Suzuki was trying to be noticed amused him. _This guy is too nice, I wonder how he even got through the academy_. His squad leader's report had told him that he was very hard-working, and that despite his overall eagerness, he fought with grim determination. _We might still manage to make something out of him... If he stops staring at my vice-captain_, he added with an inside smirk.

"That's nice of you, Suzuki, but your squad leader will probably want to see you back. Besides, she needs to do a bit of work done before the day is over, and she's good at getting information out of people." He turned to Matsumoto. "So, get me that report and come back as fast as you can, I got other stuff for you to do."

She smiled.

"As you wish, Taicho." And she stood back up and moved away, leaving her hand to trail on his shoulder until it reached his neck, then letting it fall naturally as she went to get her coat.

Toshiro fought hard not to let his eyes widen in surprise. He remained frozen for a few seconds, purposedly not looking at her, and relaxed only when he heard the door close. He then turned his thoughts and look back to Suzuki, and was surprised to see him glaring at the door. It was the first time he saw him looking angry.

_I guess he'd have wanted her to stay..._

"Suzuki?"

The youngster realised he was looking away and brought his eyes back to his captain. The angry look had totally disappeared.

"Yes, Taicho?"

"Well, I'm happy to have seen you, but I think you should go back, don't you think?"

"Oh." He seemed a little downcast. "Oh, yeah. of course." He put on a smile. "Good day to you, Taicho!"

He stood up, bowed, and left without saying another word.

"Good day too..." said Toshiro to the empty room.  
_Weird..._

He shrugged and went back to the papers that had been lying on his desk and that he had not yet had time to get a good look at. Sighing at the quantity there was, he stood up to make himself a cup of tea, and had just sat back down when the sound of an explosion made him jump.

* * *

Yeah, clifhanger. I'm evil.

Please review, it might manage to make me move my a... and get into Bleach again so I can get the feeling of the characters again and write more.


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